“I want to touch you so badly.” It stunned her that those words had come from her but she didn’t regret them. It was the truth.

“I will be returning to the task force headquarters tonight.” He paused. “Would you stay there with me? It’s too dangerous for me to stay with you since your place isn’t secure. I have to stay where I’ve been ordered to live—at headquarters. I know my room is small. My bed isn’t as big as yours and you have a pet.” He growled again. “It sounds as if I’m trying to talk you out of staying with me but that’s not the case. I’m just thinking of all the reasons you can use to say no but I’m hopeful you won’t. I want to sleep with you in my arms.”

“I’ll pack a bag.” Lauren grinned, opened her eyes, and excitement gripped her. “I’ll make sure Tiger’s food dispenser is full and I’ll ask Amanda to check on him. I’ll even put out extra for him and fill the bathtub so he’s got plenty of water. Not that he really needs it since he roams outside a lot of the time and probably has his own ways of getting it. I don’t have a job anymore so no worries about not going to work tomorrow.” She laughed. “Is it just for tonight or should I pack for a few days? Where do I go to meet you? I’ll drive there if they’ve dropped off my car. Just give me a place and a time. I’ll be there.”

“I’ll pick you up. Pack a lot of clothes. Expect me between seven and eight.”

“I’ll be ready!”

“I will be there as soon as I am able, Lauren. I can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t either. Hurry up. I’ll be ready! Goodbye, Wrath.”

“It is never goodbye between us, Lauren. I’ll see you soon.” He growled again and hung up.

“Yes,” she laughed, hung up, and dialed. Wrath wanted to see her, spend time with her and she needed to pack. First though, she needed to call Amanda.

“Hello?” The groggy voice assured her that her friend was still sleeping.

“Sorry I woke you up. He called me! He’s coming tonight to pick me up and I’m going to spend at least a few days with him. Did you hear from Flame yet?”

“No.” Amanda sighed. “But I’m happy for you. Run with scissors, Lauren. If there’s ever a time to take a stupid and crazy chance where you know you could get hurt, well, he’s the one.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Flame will call you soon.” She glanced at the clock. “He’s probably still at work. It’s only four o’clock. Most people get off work around five, right? You’re a wonderful person and he’d be stupid not to realize that. He seemed pretty smart to me in the little amount of time I got to spend with him.”

“I hope so. He did say he was sure I could make him roar.”

“Roar?”

“He’s part lion or something. He purred at me a few times while we were rubbing up against each other on the dance floor. It was the hottest thing. I swear it made me wet.”

Lauren chuckled. “TMI, Amanda. I don’t need to know that.”

“We’re best friends so there’s no such thing. Give it up, besty. Does Wrath purr?”

“He’s canine. He growls and snarls.” She bit her lip. “His c**k swells at the end of sex and he’s locked inside me until it goes down. He snuggles with me afterward. It’s wonderful but that information stays between us.”

“No! Seriously? Wow. What did that feel like? The swelling?”

“Amazing.”

“I wonder if Flame swells. I can’t wait to find out. Of course now I’m a little frightened. He is seriously hung. I couldn’t miss that when we were pressed together and I noticed it was ‘ouchie’ sized. I can’t imagine it if he swells even bigger. I might take on more than I can chew.” She chuckled. “Or suck. You know what I mean?”

“Way too much info.”

“What about Mr. Hunk? Anything to write home about in that department?”

“He’s more than a letter. He’s worth an entire book.”

Amanda snorted. “Maybe it’s a New Species thing. Good thing they weren’t mixed with horses. That would totally be scary, right?”

“No shit.” Lauren scooted off her bed and dropped to her knees to dig one-handed under her bed for her suitcase. “I need to pack. I’m taking my cell if it’s in my car—hopefully they’ve brought it back here by now—but if not, Wrath probably has a phone I can use. I’ll call you in the next few days.”

“You better. Are you going to the NSO? Tell Flame to call me.”

“We’re going back to that headquarters place. It’s a secret so keep it hush-hush.”

“I’m the queen of discreet.”

“Right.”

“What is it like there?”

“He lives there underground. A lot of people hate them so keep your lips sealed about that place. He says it’s not safe for them to live where it isn’t secure—I guess that means anywhere other than their compounds—or he’d just stay here with me. He’s got a private room with a bathroom. They also have a big room with a kitchen and a living room. There’s even a pool table.”

Amanda laughed. “You could have him do you on it. Pool table sex is hot.”

“It’s in a room everyone uses.”

“Even better. The thrill of maybe getting caught.”